Comparison of Sorption Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogels with Soy Wax and Polytetrafluoroethylene

Composite aerogels have been produced from reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with polytetrafluoroethylene and soy wax (rGO/PTFE and rGO/wax aerogels, respectively). It has been established that the specific capacity Qw of the rGO/wax aerogel for solvents, oil, and petroleum products under comparison exceeds that of the rGO/PTFE aerogel. At the same time, the maximum value of the water-wetting angle for a flat surface of the rGO/wax aerogel was 142.4°, whereas this value for the rGO/PTFE aerogel was usually in the range of 161.9°−163.7°. Using the method of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), it has been shown that the melting point of wax in the rGO/wax aerogel is by approximately 11°C lower than that of pure wax. In addition, the effect of swelling during sorption of solvents has been established for the rGO/wax aerogel. The work has shown among other things that high sorption capacity of material with respect to petroleum products depends not only on its hydrophobicity and oleophilicity, but also on its swelling capacity.